The unit is currently investigating 46 fatal crashes – and Sgt Askham says it is their duty to provide answers to grieving families.

He said: “There is very rarely just one cause. It is common that a number of factors come together.”

Having knocked on doors in the dead of the night to inform relatives that loved ones have died, Sgt Askham said he is committed to providing answers to help grieving families come to terms with their loss.

Some investigations lead to criminal court cases with people accused of causing death by dangerous driving. Others end up before a coroner, with no criminal blame. But in all cases families of crash victims always want answers.

“It is very very demanding to have to break the news that somebody has died and each family is different in the way they accept that – grief is very powerful and everyone reacts differently to it,” said Sgt Askham.

“Some will be overcome with emotion and others might strike out at you because you are delivering something they do not want.

“Our role after that is to find out what happened and why. The relatives left behind have a right to know that.”

So far this year, 24 drivers, passengers and pedestrians have been killed and 325 seriously injured on the county’s roads.

From police officers arriving at crash scenes and dealing with the initial aftermath – which can include everything from battling to revive casualties to diverting traffic – investigations into the circumstances surrounding the collisions start immediately. Treated as crime scenes, photographs of crash sites are taken, tyre marks measured, weather and road conditions noted and vehicles examined.

Debris is painstakingly examined, with officers looking for anything which could shed some light on what might have caused a crash.

Once the cars are towed away, crash barriers are repaired and roads re-opened, the next phase of collision investigation begins.